If you want to learn about homebrew, this is where you should start. The Wii Brew wiki includes a description of just about every Wii homebrew app out there, and also includes tutorials for getting everything set up.

Take some time to explore and you’ll get a pretty good idea of what you can do with your Wii. The WiiBrew forum is also a friendly place to learn more about the Wii homebrew scene, with a place for newbies to ask questions. It’s less active than a few years ago, for obvious reasons, but you’ll still find a bunch of recent posts.

A quick note, though: if your primary interest is playing pirated backed-up games, this site isn’t for you. WiiBrew is dedicated to homebrew apps – nothing to do with copying commercial Wii games can be found here.

Of course, browsing games and software on your computer isn’t necessarily ideal – you’ll be running this software on your Wii, after all. If you want the app store experience, try the Homebrew Browser. It lets you explore the games and software offered by the homebrew community, entirely on your Wii.

Even better: you can download apps in one click, and even make sure you’ve got the most recent version.

The Homebrew Browser lets you sort games by rating, which makes it easier to find something fun. It also automates the download process, meaning you won’t need to download a ZIP on your computer and transfer the files to your SD Card.

Homebrew Browser isn’t perfect – it’s prone to crashes, and isn’t always speedy. Still, once it’s set up, you’ll find that it’s the best way to discover and manage homebrew software.

Homebrew is cool, but maybe not what you’re looking for. Are you interested in backing up your games to a hard drive, so you can play them from there? Whether you’re worried about wearing out discs or just want faster load times, this site outlines the complete process.

There’s not a lot of great documentation out there for someone who wants to learn about playing backed-up Wii games – searches will lead you to various forums full of dead links and cryptic information. The Complete Softmod Guide is the real deal, explaining the full process. It’s even (relatively) easy to follow, though make sure you read and understand everything before moving forward.

Remember: playing games you don’t own is wrong, and illegal. Don’t do that.

In addition to backups, you’ll find plenty of information about doing things like skinning your Wii. This isn’t without risk, so make sure you know what you’re doing before your proceed.

Justin Pot is a technology journalist based in Portland, Oregon. He loves technology, people and nature – and tries to enjoy all three whenever possible. You can chat with Justin on Twitter, right now.